Shadow in the Wings
by wxe
Summary: "She felt his killing intent amidst the carnage and it made her pulse skip. She could feel her blood heat up and boil beneath her skin, charring her alive." (Levi x OC)
1. Chapter 1 - The Shadow

**Author's Notes** : Trying out this writing thing. I'm not a fan of reading long-winded descriptions and filler events so I will try to avoid writing them as well. I welcome any constructive criticism though so please let me know your thoughts.

* * *

"Answer, scum."

The flickering torches contrasted the blackness of the last cell on the left. The cell's inhabitant shuddered out raspy, erratic pants that betrayed his rising pulse.

"I want to join the survey corps, and kill as many Titans as I can, SIR!"

The dark haired captain liked the look in his eyes; it cut through the shadows of his cell with an intensity Levi had not seen in a long time.  
"Erwin, I'll take responsibility for him. Tell that to the higher ups," he spoke as he approached the rusted bars.

"Don't get me wrong though. It's not like I trust him. If he betrays us or goes beserk, I'll put him down without hesitation," Levi promised ominously, morphing the starved look in Eren's eyes into one of apprehension. The younger recruit would be freed from the dirty walls of the dungeon but at the cost of being leashed by a noose.

The weight of every mistake Eren had ever made would outweigh his contributions, that much Erwin was certain of as both the commander and captain exited towards the upper floors. Many witnessed the one in a million chance of a Titan fighting on the behalf of humanity, but they were too cowed by fear to step forward. They couldn't see the long-term ramifications of destroying the humanoid Titan, humanity's only chance at tipping the scale.

"If worse comes to worst, try to incapacitate him. His dissection could further our research," Erwin spoke as they moved further down the hall.

"If he can survive the blood loss."

There was a beat of silence before a voice rang out from the depths of the darkness, but neither party flinched.  
"Maybe he'd rather be eaten than die by your hand, _humanity's strongest,_ " came the mocking tone.

"Come out, you damn sneak," Levi commanded. His facial expression darkened as he knew she only revealed herself when she felt like provoking him.

"Surely!" From behind, a figure launched itself downwards. Kina Rosenthal, one of two members in the Survey Corps' Covert Operations team, landed soundlessly behind the two leaders.

Erwin's close confidantes were aware of Kina's role, but never knew the specifics of her missions as they were backend tasks for the commander's strategies. Those curious enough to follow her often found that Kina was quite difficult to track. That much was evident as only two pairs of footsteps echoed in the chambers as the three of them walked. She was an elite happily employed as Erwin's lowly, unranked pawn even though some argued it was a waste of frontline potential. If only they knew.

"Well? Should I go spy on that pesky military brigade? Or do you want me to just go seduce Nile and find out their strategy over pillowtalk?" She spoke playfully, but any veteran could see the bloodlust that hid in the curves of her smile.

Erwin mirrored the smile, "Since you asked, I do have a special task for you."

* * *

"Fucking bullshit!" Kina growled out in frustration as she paced the headquarters of the Special Operations Squad.

"Agreed," Levi mindlessly replied, even though he wore a look of indifference. The captain remained placid at his desk, hands moving quickly as he scrawled across parchment. There was too much red-tape that had to be crossed in order to bring Eren Yeager into the Survey Corps that he didn't have time to listen to someone whine. Kina's involvement in Erin's development was beyond Levi's understanding, but he trusted the judgement of his commanding officer. The Special Operations squad, however, would be less accommodating. Unease spread across the team when they learned that their leader would be attempting to bring the humanoid Titan into their group. The tension would only double once the time came that Kina, a no-name soldier, had to be introduced into their ranks as well.

"There are only two members of Covert Operations and he's forcing me to join this shitty squad. Big fuckin' demotion..." she grumbled and sped her pace.

Levi scowled at the manic woman after she insulted his team. "We'll see if you can even keep up with my most rookie member. There's no one to even vouch for your skills." He sneered and added in for good measure, "Do you even know how to use a 3DMG?"

Kina threw him a sardonic smile.

"Don't be mad, heichou. I'm sure we'll be _quite_ compatible." She rested a hand on the desk and leaned in while fluttering her lashes at him. From an outsider perspective, it would appear as if she was openly flirting with him, but between the two of them, they knew it was a challenge. She was confident she could match 'humanity's strongest soldier' and he was confident he would kill her himself if she fucked up any of their expeditions. Egotistical bitch.

It was true though. No one had ever seen Kina on the battlefield so they were dubious of her skill. The only assurance that she was an elite soldier was the fact that Erwin had handpicked her to join Covert Ops right out of training. The team was started by Erwin's predecessor but had been devoid of members for many years until he found Kina and later on, Lucas. They were the strategist's secret pawns for both internal and external matters.

Kina's Titan count during her missions could quell any doubts, but of course, there were no witnesses to vouch for it. She and Lucas worked independently of one another and without backup. If any of Erwin's covert missions went awry, they could end their lives with a single pill they kept at all times, leaving no one to leak information. The two members were aware of the risks associated with being in Covert Ops and embraced the freedom to accomplish Erwin's goals by their own means. Lucas was focused on long-term missions and Kina protected Erwin while carrying out his short-term missions. Mapping beyond the wall, espionage, assassinations...Those were a few of Kina's tasks. She didn't even know what Lucas did except for the fact that he came back every few months to report.

"You have 3 seconds to take your hand off my desk."  
His voice was calm and unwavering, but his eyes said, _I will end you_.

She lingered for a rebellious second longer before removing her hand and waving it in a gesture of concession. "Hai, hai, my apologies heichou," she said cheerfully. If Levi didn't have a set amount of facial expressions in his repertoire, he would have surely rolled his eyes, but he settled for the usual deadpan look as she sauntered out of the room. Kina paused by the door frame. "Those cowards will probably think they can execute him like a normal man. They don't even realize he could destroy them all on the spot," she gave Levi a side glance and disappeared into the hallway.

"Hn." As if he didn't already know.


	2. Chapter 2 - True Strength

**Author's Notes** : Apologies if this is a little slow starting since I am doing the buildup following the events of the actual storyline. I want to give a good snapshot of Kina before deviating from the main plot and focusing more on her relationship with Levi.

Also- thank you to everyone who followed and favorited! It made me extremely happy to see your name pop up on the list and really encouraged me to keep writing.

* * *

The tail end of dawn left the sky scorched gold. Seated in the dining hall with only remnants of a hearty breakfast, the members of the Special Operations Squad were attentive to their captain as he briefed them on the day's course. In a few short moments, they would all be embarking on a journey to the former headquarters of the Survey Corps to reclaim it as their new hideout. It was an aged, impractical building, but it had its uses.

"Um, heichou, I have a question."

"Spit it out," the dark haired captain snapped after being interrupted.

"Who is this?" Oluo inquired as he pointed an accusatory finger at the newcomer who had slipped into their ranks.

"Yoohoo~!" The mysterious addition greeted the befuddled faces with a friendly wave of her fingers. Kina was casually slouched in the typically empty seat at the head of the table across from their heichou. Diminishing wisps of steam escaping her half empty mug hinted that she had been undetected for longer than anyone would care to admit.

"What do you hear when I open my mouth? I ordered you to meet us there," Levi spoke while wearing one of two expressions he had mastered, which, in this case was a scowl.

"Probably something between white noise and radio static," Kina answered the rhetoric matter-of-factly, ignoring the latter half of the statement altogether.

She remembered Levi's order. It was just aggravating that anyone other than Erwin would issue a command to her. The covert ops member swore her allegiance only to the commander, regardless of which jurisdiction she currently fell under. She would complete any number of unsavory tasks he asked, but for Levi, she wouldn't complete even a mundane one.

" _She died in line of duty..._ " Levi mused out loud, rehearsing how he would make the tragic announcement to Erwin. The captain contemplated if shooting a grapple through Kina and using her as Titan bait constituted as having her serve as a special ops member as Erwin requested. Surely, he could find a loophole somewhere.

" _...And so tragic that they lost their captain too,_ " Kina completed the musing with a thinly veiled threat. Stony gray eyes clashed against dark emerald ones and the unfortunate audience caught in the crossfire tensed up from the amount of ill will they felt passing between the opposing forces. The deadlock was finally broken when a soft cough brought the two warriors back from their mental battle and they noticed a very uncomfortable looking squad around them. It was rare enough that the special ops members heard Levi utter more than a few words, but they had never seen someone purposely antagonize him like he was a damn toy before.

Leaning both elbows on the table, Kina interlocked her fingers and placed her languidly smiling face atop the structure. "My name is Kina Rosenthal. Pleasure to meet you all!"

Amused eyes snapped back towards Levi, cuing him to give the rest of the introduction as planned, lest she step on any more toes. After all, it wasn't nice to pick fights on the first day!

"This fool will be joining the Special Operations Squad effective immediately. She is transferring over from the 4th squad under Hange Zoë since she apparently didn't have the brains for research." He threw in the last remark without a trace of humor in his tone. The transfer was of course a cover story, but it also _technically_ could have been true as Kina was supposed to join the research unit before Erwin extended his offer to her.

Scrutinizing stares and half-hearted greetings hinted that they were more hesitant about her sudden arrival than they were about the young humanoid Titan. Eren could be taken at face value; he was just a rookie and all of mankind already knew about his special 'quirk'. Kina, on the other hand, was sudden and uncalculated. She could see the gears turning in their minds, but she offered them nothing to further their conjectures as she maintained a placid default expression.

* * *

A stray breeze simultaneously ruffled dark cloaks and strew bits of earthly debris over the Special Operations Unit. Bringing up the rear, the purposely slow stride of her steed allowed Kina to have mostly open space around her except in front where the unit's members rode side-by-side in pairs. Having worked solo for many years, it was a bit anxiety inducing to suddenly have to be in the company of others for an extended period of time. Her demeanor never faltered, but she loathed being in an open succession loudly plodding down a singularly paved road. For a covert operations member who needed to be quick, silent, and unpredictable en route to missions, Kina felt like a moving target even if they were inside the safety of the walls.

"Don't get cocky, new blood." Oulo's voice was the only one that could be heard.

"I don't know the deal with this crap about you being a Titan, but we can't have Captain Levi babysit-" The horse stumbled over a stone in the path and Oulo's threatening look turned into one of pain as he bit down on his tongue.

Eren was caught between surprise and uncertainty of how to react at the weak hazing attempt. Kina, however, was certain that it was an act of God that just unfolded before her as she let out full-stomached laughter.

"OI. The thame gothe for ou too-" the injured soldier managed to utter out while once more pointing an accusing finger over in Kina's direction.

"Oulo, haven't you learned your lesson?" Petra cut in, knowing that her clumsy comrade would probably bleed himself dry while trying to imitate their heichou.

Oulo gave himself a moment to compose and furiously rubbed his sleeve against his mouth before he tried again. Apparently, he hadn't learned a thing.

"Well then? Since you're from Hange's squad, what is YOUR Titan count? Every member of the Levi squad has soloed _at least_ 7 kills. I, myself, have soloed 39 of those bastards." Straightening his back as he spoke, the gray haired soldier looked extremely satisfied with himself. He turned to share some of his smugness and hoped to see Kina struggle to come up with an answer.

"Ehh? I'm more of a lover than a fighter. I've never even laid eyes on a Titan before," Kina replied with a perfect mix of innocence and stupidity.

Oulo's jaw dropped open, shocked because he was used to at least some kind of retort, but as soon as it fell open, his jaw was snapped shut once more as his horse jerked again.

"Told you so," Petra said with a shake of her head at the once more freshly wounded Oulo. She glanced backwards and a small laugh escaped her as the newest troublemaker winked when their eyes connected. Although Petra thoroughly enjoyed Kina's ability to quickly silence Oulo, the flames of her curiosity were fanned by the obvious evasion of the question. Confident body language was usually an accurate gauge of strength and not once had Petra seen the newcomer falter.

"If that was true, I'd throw you into the mouth of a Titan myself. Better as a distraction than dead weight," Levi finally spoke. Once more without a trace of humor, of course.

"Aw, don't say that, heichou. I'm quite sensitive, I'll have you know," Kina replied with mock sincerity.

A pause. "I've been meaning to ask, what do you do when you can't reach something on a top shelf? Do you use your 3DMG to get to it or do you just order someone else get it for you?"

Somehow, the forest seemed more quiet than it had a moment ago as another breeze passed through. Barely audible, someone muttered under their breath, " _Oh for fuck's sake_..."

"I use a chair, like any other person. Because I am not a complete moron," the captain coolly retorted and knew it would end right then and there because Kina was the type to only poke the bear once and run away for shits and giggles.

"Ah, but of course!"

The succession commenced silently this time, as Kina hoped it would. She tucked a stray strand of chestnut colored hair behind her ear as the loosely tied tresses had messily fallen apart during the commute. After a long lull, her eyes came to rest on the back directly in front of her.

She clearly had no respect for him as a person, but as a warrior, she had to admit he was captivating. Covert missions forced them to cross paths a handful of times, but never once had Levi seen Kina even though she had been close enough to observe him. The dark haired captain was typically distracted by death and chaos surrounding him while Kina remained discrete, offering no hand in the battle as she had separate objectives to accomplish. She thought it intriguing how he held one of his blades backhanded. It was atypical, but his grip was confident and his eyes unwavering. The strength he exuded was enough to turn the tides of a battle. He was fearsome to behold.

People were naturally intimidated by the power Levi radiated, but on the actual field, he morphed into something else altogether. She felt his killing intent amidst the carnage and it made her pulse skip. She could feel her blood heat up and boil beneath her skin, charring her alive. His power spurred her to move faster, slash harder, and destroy everything around them.

The hazy daydream was broken when the steely gray eyes Kina was recalling were actually looking back towards her. The serene facade was back on her features as soon as she noticed, but Kina knew the split-second he caught her contemplative expression left her a little more vulnerable than before.

He turned away.

* * *

Four times he had walked by the second floor landing and each time, Kina was still wiping the same spotless banister with a cheerful thumbs up as he passed. The aggravated captain came by a fifth with an ultimatum. "I'll give you a choice. Either go scrub every toilet in headquarters or go through the training course and give everyone a glimpse of what you can do. I will not watch you clean one banister for four hours."

It was about damn time she showed the squad- showed him- what kind of strengths and weaknesses she had. There was no way he was going to allow her to hide her abilities until an actual battle where the last thing they needed were surprises.

"You should know better than anyone else it's not tactical to show all your cards up front," Kina immediately countered, bracing for a fight.

The force of Levi's glare actually had Kina a bit taken aback.  
"Listen, Rosenthal, you are not in covert ops now. These are your teammates whether you consider them as such or not. They are **not** the enemy. They need to know if they can rely on you in battle and so far, they have no information apart from the fact that you have shit for brains."

It seemed like their deadlocked staredowns were going to become habitual as Kina considered the captain's intentions. He wasn't wrong.  
They were generally unrelenting on almost all points, but Kina understood the logic behind Levi's demand. He knew what his subordinates needed in order to work cohesively with the new additions to the team. Eren was making leaps and bounds, reciprocating all efforts to welcome him, but Kina was still a wall of humor and pleasantries. The members of the Special Operations Squad weren't blind to the fact that their new comrade was smoothly evasive in her answers and that made them more cautious towards her. Kina's respect for Levi's leadership grew a smidge. But only a smidge.

"Ok."

Captain and subordinate walked to the edge of the forest surrounding the former castle. In the darkness between towering Redwoods, they could just see the outline of practice targets that were scattered throughout the field. They were true to size and made from thick, reinforced material to emulate the toughness of a Titan's anatomy. It was a good place to test new techniques and also, gauge the abilities of a soldier.

The squad had already gathered to the highest point in the course to observe. They had been burning to see what abilities could be offered by a transfer from the research unit. The members of Hange's squad were not particularly revered for their physical prowess.

Before she began, Kina confirmed the agreement, "No cleaning duties?"

"For now."

"And you'll buy me dinner~"

"Go fuck yourself."

She grinned before launching the grapple of her 3DMG into the nearest Redwood. The darkness of her uniform melded her into the shadows, but the speed of her maneuvers turned her into a blur. If there was any word to describe Kina's movement, it was 'efficient'. Every grapple placement and directional pivot was made without wasted movement.

"She's fast," Eld commented.

"But nothing special," Oulo added in with a derisive snort.

Though she was indeed quick with her gear, Levi did find himself disappointed. With a petite form and a penchant for staying light on the feet, the captain thought that that Kina would come somewhat closer to his own speed. Her rapid movements certainly matched any elite in the corps, but the way Erwin highly spoke of her, Levi had expected more out of a handpicked Covert Operations member.

The audience watched on curiously as Kina approached the first target. The lithe form swung forwards, closing the distance between her and the target. At this point, it was protocol to project the 3DMG onto another structure directly behind or at least to the side of the Titan, but she refrained from doing so.

"What the hell is she doing?" Oulo questioned, looking a bit displeased at first and then puzzled as Kina continued facing the Titan head on.

 _Perhaps it wasn't her speed..._ Levi quickly reanalyzed Kina's aptitude. The captain noted her atypical way of attacking, only one blade was gripped in Kina's hand and the second sat unused in her 3DMG. She pulled her arm upwards and across the front of her body to gain the most momentum as the other hung limp by her side. The downward force of the swing happened so quickly and powerfully that most observers missed the connection between blade and Titan but caught the splintering of all the Redwood trees in the vicinity.

The veterans of the Levi Squad attempted to remain straight-faced, but they could not hide the disbelief that touched their raised brows. Levi watched as acknowledgement of Kina's abilities dawned upon each member in turn. This would be the first step to ensuring they could trust each other on the battlefield.

Turning back to the scene, Kina had already moved on, but the captain and his subordinates could not take their eyes off the Titan head that had been entirely sliced off its body with a single, clean slash.


	3. Chapter 3 - Simple and Clean

It was a relentless attack with both sides unyielding. Brute force was the name of the game and slowly but surely, the aggressor was victorious as a shining surface revealed itself.

"Finally got this stupid stain out!" Kina rejoiced as she wiped away the last bit of grime caked onto the window. She flashed a triumphant grin towards her two cleaning companions and tightened the scarf that held back her strands as she valiantly fought.

Petra and Eren withheld chuckles as their comrade who had started out the morning grumbling had become so vigorously engrossed in the task that she was covered in dust.

"I didn't think you would actually comply with heichou's orders," Petra said, testing Kina's sudden change of heart. She had been prying for information more and more, Kina noticed. Petra had taken a particular interest in her as soon as they reached their new base of operations. Her eagerness to learn about Kina's background made it all the more easy to bait and tease her.

"Well, I do suppose I feel like I owe him a little bit…" Kina replied back a bit cryptically, knowing that her copper haired teammate would mull over the statement for the rest of the day.

After Kina's demonstration in the training course, the Special Operations Squad had warmed to her considerably. There was something about lessening the mystery around the newcomer that made everyone a little less anxious. Knowing Kina's strength allowed her teammates to feel a bit more familiar with her, but how friendly they were varied by member. Petra was the most affable by nature and Eren seemed drawn to her due to the fact that they both new to the squad. Oulo still puffed his chest out whenever he saw the two, but Gunther and Eld were casual. Levi, she had not spoken to since the training course.

In a way, Kina did feel like she owed him for his insight on the team. The captain was well aware of how to integrate the two new members quickly as he gave just the right push to trigger interactions between the members. Gaining a person's trust was something the cover ops member had picked up over the years, but penetrating a group was something else altogether. If Levi had been even a little less willful in his approach, she would have laughed in his face.

"Deliberate as usual," Eren commented on Kina's vague answer. The young Titan could be uncharacteristically sharp sometimes. Kina just gave him a knowing smile and said nothing. Petra furrowed her brows at the two, scrutinizing them to decipher their purposely subtle exchange.

"I'll go tell Levi heichou we're finished on this floor!" Eren was quick to leave the room and head towards the lower floors before Petra could go any further.

"The two newbies already have such a good connection. Third wheeling me like that," Petra said with an exaggerated puffing of her cheek to feign annoyance.

"There, there. You only need to say so if you're jealous. We can have a secret affair of our own."  
Kina put on the most lecherous expression she could muster and the two girls snickered to themselves. They would be hard-pressed to squeeze this type of good-natured humor out of any of the other grizzled old veterans in the squad.

Hoping to take advantage of Kina's open mood, Petra struck again with another probe of her background concealed in a lighthearted joke, "So, 'Rosenthal'. Sounds like a noble surname. Are you royalty or something?"

"Well, sort of…" Kina answered the inquiry. She watched her copper haired comrade struggle with skepticism. "I stole it out of a book. The character was royalty so you're not far off," she continued. The Cover Ops member wasn't particularly guarded about her past, but at the moment, it seemed more advantageous to let Petra feel as if she was letting her in on some grand secret.

"I...don't understand. Why did you choose a different surname?"

As if answering a simple arithmetic, Kina plainly stated, "I didn't have one. I needed one to enlist in the training corps so I chose one."

There were only two reasons why a citizen would not have a documented last name. Either they were an orphan or…

Kina could see Petra shift awkwardly. She had opened Pandora's box but did not know if it would offend her new comrade if she pushed through the conversation.

Kina kindly made the decision and answered the unspoken question, "I was a part of the slave trade." She watched Petra's grip around the broom grow unnaturally rigid, as if she did not know how to look normal all of a sudden.

"I'm sorry. I really shouldn't have asked."

"It doesn't particularly bother me."  
The same placid smile Kina wore the first time Petra had met the peculiar brunette made another appearance and it unnerved her.

"I'll go sweep the staircase before heichou starts coming up to examine the floor," Petra said while still looking apologetic. She wasn't uncomfortable with Kina's status, but Kina's strange reaction to her past had Petra confused. She didn't know how to act if the subject herself wasn't reacting genuinely.

Kina watched the retreating figure and leaned against the sill. Once Petra untangled her thoughts, Kina figured she would become a strong ally. She would probably feel more loyal towards Kina due to the fact that they were both the only females on the team and she now carried a piece of knowledge about Kina's past that was not known to anyone else. The covert ops member didn't mean to be quite so tactical about the interaction, but it made sense to solidify Petra as an ally when the opportunity came. If she needed to feel like Kina trusted her with a 'secret', so be it.

Throwing open the glass panes to allow dust to escape, Kina was rewarded with cool, crisp wind that carried the scent of the forest. It was a solitary moment of calm as she gazed out into the distance. The blades of grass moved in uncoordinated patterns, wrenching in all directions as if to be free from their roots. In the silence, she suddenly became aware of her own heartbeat, beating slow and strong.

The deceptive breeze became a sudden gust and her scarf decided to take flight. It escaped just enough that the cloth grazed the tips of her fingers as she reached out to recapture it.

A quicker hand gripped the end of the fabric before it floated off into the world. The arm stretched out further than hers and the tautness of a chest pressed lightly against her right shoulder blade. Kina turned to face her helper, surprised to see cool gray looking back at her.

Wordlessly, he offered the scarf to her, but as she reached out to take it, he childishly pulled it back. A glare touched her eyes but a grin sat on her lips as the dark haired captain offered it again and this time, she ripped it out of his grasp immediately.

"Thank you."

Levi did not answer. Instead he started examining the room.

"Not bad. You three didn't do too shitty of a job," he commented while testing the surfaces for dust and looking under furniture.

"A simple 'good job' would have sufficed." She tied her long strands back up with the scarf.

"Missed one." He pointed to the nape of his neck, causing Kina to mirror the gesture and find a loose lock that had escaped her. She looked at him strangely and tucked the neglected strand back with the rest. The captain caught her off guard with such a trivial observation, but her neck suddenly felt a little too exposed.

"I'm surprised you were a slave. You rebel so damn much I didn't think there would be an obedient bone in your body," Levi suddenly stated without sympathy.

"There's not. Trust me on that one," she stretched languidly with a light yawn.

Kina hoisted herself up and took a seat on the ledge of the windowsill, not bothered by the fact that he had overheard the conversation with Petra. She decided at that moment that she preferred his brutal way of speaking over delicate words with questionable sincerity.

"How did you escape?"

She leaned her head back against the side of the window, looking out at Levi through the corner of her eyes as he continued to check every crevice of the room for dirt.

"I killed them. You saw my strength. It shouldn't seem too far-fetched that a 13 year old me had taken down a small group before running off into the sunset," she spoke while deciding to untie the scarf after all and allow her hair to cascade down. "It was like a damn fairytale," she said the last part a little more cynically than she would have liked.

The captain perused the room silently now. Kina wondered if he had run out of furniture to check and was just rummaging aimlessly.

"Would have been sold as a whore," she stated deliberately. Though he did not betray any reaction, somehow Kina could tell she had struck a chord. It was confidential, but she was aware he had also immersed himself in the Underground World after his mother, a 'woman of the night', passed away.

"I see."

Kina's strategy with Petra didn't quite translate well with the dark haired captain, but it didn't appear as if he was aware of the attempted manipulation. It was just that he didn't care about sob stories in the same way Kina did not either. Most people born into their current world would have some kind of tragic backstory. It wasn't a big fuckin' surprise when someone revealed a personal tragedy. The bleeding hearts who couldn't stop being emotional about it were the really irritating ones. Eren was a good enough soldier, but Kina could tell he was a long way off from being completely cool and rational the way the other veterans were.

If she had to tell her story, it would be three sentences long and told so dully you'd think she was teaching class: She was born into slavery. When they wanted to start selling her body, she killed them with her fists. Afterwards, she enlisted and the rest is history.

"You three missed a few spots, do it again," he snapped before exiting the room.

"Boring," Kina commented to no one after Levi had already left and she could hear him nag Eren about the standards of cleanliness.


End file.
